


Old Stories and Atrocities

by celestial_seraphim



Category: Devilman (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Dragon AU, Gen, M/M, ryo is a dragon yup
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-24
Updated: 2018-07-24
Packaged: 2019-06-15 11:31:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15411972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celestial_seraphim/pseuds/celestial_seraphim
Summary: Akira has been recently hired to assist the royal Dragon Keeper. However, he soon finds himself befriending the captive dragon, finding out that he was cursed. Not sure if he should betray the Emperor and help the dragon who calls himself Ryo, Akira makes a quick decision when he notices the inevitable death of the dragon if he stays imprisoned there.





	Old Stories and Atrocities

**Author's Note:**

> Will be a longer fic later ^^

_Shadows moving in the darkness._ Akira felt cold drops of sweat beading up on the back of his neck. The bowl he was holding rattled around as his arms began to shake.

   “Just place the food by the cage. You don’t need to do anything else,” Michael had said.  
Well, he definitely failed to mention the atmosphere around the cage. It felt like hands were gripping at his throat, feeling the muscles contract and get tighter and tighter. He stopped in his tracks once he heard breathing. It was soft and deliberate like a predator waiting in the shadows.

   “It’s okay, Akira. It’s in a cage. It can’t hurt you.”  
With deep breaths, Akira moved forward, placing the bowl of food in front of a small opening. He nearly shrieked when he noticed two glowing orbs of blue light in the darkness. Dammit. If only it was day time, then he could see the creature. They moved closer along with the clink of talons on the stone floor. The sheer feel of its aura from where Akira was was massive. Were they sure this wasn’t some kind of god?

   “You’re..new. I don’t recognize your scent.” A voice spoke softly in Akira’s mind.  
Akira simply stood there, mouth wide open. This thing..could talk??

   “Um, yeah, I’m the new assistant to the dragon keeper. He was tired, so I was sent in to give you your dinner. Are you..really a dragon? Only royalty, esteemed guests, and the keeper get to see you. I’ve never seen a dragon before,” Akira said, finding words difficult to form.

   “I will show you, but tell me your name first.” The voice sounded like someone around the same age as him.

   “My name is Akira Fudo. I swear I don’t mean you any harm.” Akira’s eyes widened as a blinding light suddenly filled the room as if something exploded. As his eyes adjusted, he found the room was filled with small, sparkling lights. They reminded him of snowflakes, fuzzy looking and slowly falling towards the floor. In the middle of the cage stood a glowing serpent like dragon covered in golden fur. His whiskers moved about him in slow arcs, ears down and back, peering at Akira with suspicious eyes.

   “My name is Ryo..Ryo Asuka.”

   “I wasn’t aware that dragons had last names,” Akira said, finding it a bit odd. Gods didn’t usually have last names..to his knowledge at least.

   “Well, if you must know..it’s because I’m supposed to be human.” Ryo looked down forlornly. He was sick of this cage, sick of seeing the same faces every day.

   “Huh? But you look like a dragon right now. Besides, it’s not like I can just trust you. We just met.” Akira sat down by the cage, feeling at least a little more at ease.

   “There are such things as curses, you know. Did you know that the current Keeper is my brother? That should tell you something.”

   “So, let’s go with your being cursed and turned into a dragon..what did you do to have that happen? I don’t mean to be rude, but the Emperor and the Keeper employed me. They’re the reason my family can live a somewhat good life.” Akira knew the kingdom had problems. The farmers weren’t being paid properly, not to mention the disease going around.

   “And how do they treat you? I bet it’s more like a slave, less like a paid worker. Trust me, they don’t mean well. They make this cage and my collar out of iron for a reason.” Ryo craned his neck up to show the collar wrapped tightly around his neck along with the singed fur and skin.

   “But..you’re the royal dragon. You should be treated well, not stuck in a cage like this.” Akira wanted to just walk into the cage and get that collar off of him, but kept himself a distance away. Hearing voices from the nearby hall, Akira began to back up close to the door. “I should get going, and you should extinguish this light. It’s very beautiful by the way.” Akira looked back at him. Ryo looked almost bashful in a way.  
The room became pitch black again once the door closed behind him. Was that dragon actually once a human? Akira was interested to know how exactly, though he could guess Michael may have had something to do with it.

Weeks went by, and Akira found himself going straight to bed every night, exhausted from running around doing errands all day. He barely got another chance to see Ryo. Many times, he was transported to the main palace. Akira wasn’t sure what they had him do. He only heard Ryo’s voice at night when he came to bring him dinner. Their conversations were short, but it was nice to have a friend to talk to.  
One day, the Keeper was away. He muttered something about having business with the Emperor. Taking the chance, Akira snuck into the enclosure. Sun shone in through the skylights above. Ryo sat in the middle, gazing up at the bit of sky he could see. His fur looked dull, not shimmery or healthy looking at all. The scales by his talons were scabbed and bruised. The only thing healthy about him were his eyes, still a brilliant blue.

   “Hello. Come to see me during the day?” Ryo glanced over in Akira’s direction.

   “Ryo..you don’t look good at all. What’s happening to you?” Akira walked up closer, leaning against the bars of the cage. Dragons should be free. It felt wrong to see one caged up and miserable.

   “Being captive and all this iron is to blame. It’s alright. I’ve more or less accepted my fate. I’m going to die here. I’m glad I have you to talk to at least. Don’t pity me, please.”

   “No. You can’t just accept this! This isn’t right! Hold on.”  
Akira ran off, heading for the shed nearby. Making sure he was in the clear, Akira grabbed two pry bars. He prayed this would work. He couldn’t bear to watch the dragon suffer and waste away.  
It took him a good while to attempt picking the lock on the cage. He finally just said “fuck it” and broke it with a shovel.

   “What are you planning? Don’t put yourself in jeopardy just for me.” Ryo growled lowly, baring his teeth, though it was weak and not very frightening at all.

   “Hush. Just let me help you.” Akira’s brow furrowed as he found the connection point on the collar. “Damn, welded shut,” he muttered as he was trying to pry it open. “Hey, could you heat these up with your fire? Like, enough so I can pry this open.”  
Ryo was still wary on getting caught, but he couldn’t just ignore the desperate look in Akira’s eyes. Using a small flame from his mouth, he super-heated the ends of the pry bars. They glowed a fiery orange at the end, allowing Akira to sink them into the welded part. With all his strength, he finally pried it open. The heavy iron collar fell to the ground with a thud. Ryo felt like he was going to float away with all that weight off of him. His ears snapped forward when he heard voices close by.

   “Yes! You’re free! So, now what? What should we do?” Akira asked, wiping sweat from his forehead.

   “We get the hell out of here,” Ryo said lowly.

Without a second thought, he grabbed Akira’s shirt with his teeth, launching himself up into the air and soon into the sky through the window above. Akira squeezed his eyes shut as there was a shattering sound then the smell of wind, full of crisp, autumn air. Below them, glass rained down, flashing as the shards caught the sun’s light.


End file.
